Welcoming the Shabbos Bride
There is a moment, every Friday evening, when the world goes quiet. The week falls away. The rush, the noise, the weight of everything you carried since Sunday morning. It all pauses. And in that pause, a song begins. You have heard it your whole life, or maybe you are hearing it for the first time. Either way, it is calling you in.
L’cha Dodi was written nearly five hundred years ago by Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz (a kabbalist and poet in sixteenth-century Tzfas). He composed this piyyut (liturgical poem) as a way for the Jewish people to greet Shabbos the way a groom greets his bride, with joy, with love, with a full heart. The song is sung every Friday night during Kabbalas Shabbos (the prayer service welcoming the Sabbath) in shuls around the world. It carries themes of geulah, comfort, and hope, and its refrain is one of the most beloved lines in all of Jewish prayer.
Before You Say This Tefillah
Before you begin, take a moment to quiet your mind and leave the week behind. You can say:
Ribbono Shel Olam, I am stepping into Shabbos. I am leaving behind the heaviness of my week and turning toward Your light. Please help me feel the kedushah of this day. Let the peace of Shabbos enter my home, my heart, and the hearts of everyone I love. In the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, I ask You to hear my tefillah. Elokah d’Meir aneni.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please let this Shabbos bring blessing and menuchah into my life. Ribbono Shel Olam, I am giving to Your children in Eretz Yisrael. Please bring Your peace into my home.
L’cha Dodi: The Full Tefillah
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד הִשְׁמִיעָנוּ אֵל הַמְיוּחָד יְהֹוָה אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד לְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת וְלִתְהִלָּה
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה כִּי הִיא מְקוֹר הַבְּרָכָה מֵרֹאשׁ מִקֶּדֶם נְסוּכָה סוֹף מַעֲשֶׂה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
מִקְדַּשׁ מֶלֶךְ עִיר מְלוּכָה קוּמִי צְאִי מִתּוֹךְ הַהֲפֵכָה רַב לָךְ שֶׁבֶת בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא וְהוּא יַחְמוֹל עָלַיִךְ חֶמְלָה
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קוּמִי לִבְשִׁי בִּגְדֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ עַמִּי עַל יַד בֶּן יִשַּׁי בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי קָרְבָה אֶל נַפְשִׁי גְּאָלָהּ
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
הִתְעוֹרְרִי הִתְעוֹרְרִי כִּי בָא אוֹרֵךְ קוּמִי אוֹרִי עוּרִי עוּרִי שִׁיר דַּבֵּרִי כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה עָלַיִךְ נִגְלָה
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
לֹא תֵבוֹשִׁי וְלֹא תִכָּלְמִי מַה תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי וּמַה תֶּהֱמִי בָּךְ יֶחֱסוּ עֲנִיֵּי עַמִּי וְנִבְנְתָה עִיר עַל תִּלָּהּ
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
וְהָיוּ לִמְשִׁסָּה שֹׁסָיִךְ וְרָחֲקוּ כָּל מְבַלְּעָיִךְ יָשִׂישׂ עָלַיִךְ אֱלֹהָיִךְ כִּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּה
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל תִּפְרוֹצִי וְאֶת יְהֹוָה תַּעֲרִיצִי עַל יַד אִישׁ בֶּן פַּרְצִי וְנִשְׂמְחָה וְנָגִילָה
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
בּוֹאִי בְשָׁלוֹם עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ גַּם בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְצָהֳלָה תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה בֹּאִי כַלָּה בֹּאִי כַלָּה בֹּאִי כַלָּה שַׁבָּת מַלְכְּתָא
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Shomor v'zochor b'dibbur echod, hishmi'onu Eil ham'yuchod, Hashem echod ush'moi echod, l'sheim ul'sif'eres v'lis'hilloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Likras Shabbos l'chu v'neilchoh, ki hi m'koir hab'rochoh, meirosh mikedem n'suchoh, soif ma'aseh b'machashavah t'chilloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Mikdash melech ir m'luchoh, kumi tz'i mitoch hahafeicho, rav loch sheves b'eimek habocho, v'hu yachmol olayich chemloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Hisna'ari mei'ofor kumi, livshi bigdei sif'arteich ami, al yad ben Yishai beis halach'mi, korvoh el nafshi g'oloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
His'or'ri, his'or'ri, ki vo oreich kumi oiri, uri uri shir dabeiri, k'vod Hashem olayich nigloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Lo seivoshi v'lo sikol'mi, mah tish'tochachi umah tehemi, boch yechesu aniyei ami, v'nivn'soh ir al tilloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
V'hoyu lim'shisoh shosoyich, v'rochaku kol m'val'oyich, yosis olayich Elokoyich, kim'sois choson al kalloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Yomin us'moil tifroitzi, v'es Hashem ta'aritzi, al yad ish ben Partzi, v'nism'choh v'nogiloh.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Bo'i v'sholom ateres ba'aloh, gam b'simchoh uv'tzoholoh, toch emunei am s'gulloh, bo'i challoh bo'i challoh bo'i challoh Shabbos malk'so.
L'cho dodi likras kalloh, p'nei Shabbos n'kab'loh.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Shamor vezachor bedibur echad, hishmi'anu El hameyuchad, Adonai echad ushmo echad, leshem uletiferet velitehila.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Likrat Shabbat lechu venelcha, ki hi mekor haberacha, merosh mikedem nesucha, sof ma'aseh bemachashava techila.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Mikdash melech ir melucha, kumi tze'i mitoch hahafecha, rav lach shevet be'emek habacha, vehu yachmol alayich chemla.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Hitna'ari me'afar kumi, livshi bigdei tifartech ami, al yad ben Yishai beit halachmi, korva el nafshi ge'ula.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Hit'oreri, hit'oreri, ki va orech kumi ori, uri uri shir daberi, kevod Adonai alayich nigla.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Lo tevoshi velo tikalmi, ma tishtochachi uma tehemi, bach yechesu aniyei ami, venivneta ir al tila.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Vehayu limshisa shosayich, verachaku kol mevalayich, yasis alayich Elokayich, kimsos chatan al kalla.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Yamin usmol tifrotzi, ve'et Adonai ta'aritzi, al yad ish ben Partzi, venismecha venagila.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Bo'i veshalom ateret ba'ala, gam besimcha uvetzahola, toch emunei am segula, bo'i challa bo'i challa bo'i challa Shabbat malketa.
Lecha dodi likrat kalla, penei Shabbat nekabela.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
"Preserve" and "Remember" in a single utterance, the One God caused us to hear. Hashem is One and His Name is One, for fame, for glory, and for praise.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
To greet the Sabbath, come let us go, for it is the source of blessing. From the very beginning, of old, it was appointed. Last in creation, first in God's thought.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Sanctuary of the King, royal city, arise, come forth from the upheaval. Too long have you dwelt in the valley of weeping. He will have compassion upon you.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Shake the dust off yourself, arise. Dress in your garments of glory, my people. Through the son of Yishai the Bethlehemite, draw near to my soul and redeem it.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Wake up, wake up, for your light has come, arise and shine. Awaken, awaken, utter a song. The glory of Hashem is revealed upon you.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Feel not ashamed, and be not humiliated. Why are you bowed down, why do you moan? In you will the poor of my people take refuge, and the city will be rebuilt on its ancient site.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
They will be ravaged, those who ravaged you, and cast far off, all who would devour you. Your God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Right and left you will spread out, and Hashem you will praise. Through the man descended from Peretz, we will rejoice and exult.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Come in peace, crown of her husband, come with joy and with good cheer, amidst the faithful of the treasured people. Come, Bride. Come, Bride. Come, Bride, Shabbos Queen.
Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride. Let us welcome the Sabbath.
Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz, a sixteenth-century author traditionally associated with Tzfas, composed Lecha Dodi. He wove his name, Shlomo HaLevi, into the piyyut as an acrostic: the first letters of the first eight stanzas after the refrain spell out his name. The Gemara in Shabbos 119a tells us that Rabbi Chanina would wrap himself in his garment on Erev Shabbos and say, “Come, let us go out to greet Shabbos the Queen,” while Rabbi Yannai would say, “Enter, O bride; enter, O bride.” Lecha Dodi clearly echoes that Chazal-based image of welcoming Shabbos as bride and queen.
What These Words Mean for You
Likras kalloh — to greet the bride “Come, my Beloved, to greet the bride”
The word kalloh means bride. In the Gemara, Shabbos is welcomed as both queen and bride: Rabbi Chanina said, “Come, let us go out to greet Shabbos the queen,” and Rabbi Yannai said, “Enter, O bride; enter, O bride” (Shabbos 119a). Rabbi Alkabetz builds directly on that language. When you sing Lecha Dodi on Friday evening, you are stepping forward to welcome Shabbos as something precious. The image is one of attention, honor, and joy. After a long week, the piyyut tells you not to drift into Shabbos casually, but to rise and receive it.
Shomor v’zochor b’dibbur echod — Guard and Remember in one utterance “Preserve and Remember in a single utterance, the One God caused us to hear”
In Shemos 20:8, the Torah says zachor, “remember the Shabbos day.” In Devarim 5:12, it says shamor, “guard the Shabbos day.” The Gemara in Shevuos 20b teaches that Hashem said both words in a single utterance, something no human mouth can do and no human ear can fully grasp. The point is that Shabbos asks for both things at once. We step back from melachah, and we fill the day with kiddush, tefillah, meals, Torah, and rest. Shabbos is not only about what we stop doing. It is also about what we actively honor.
Hisna’ari mei’ofor kumi — Shake off the dust, arise “Shake the dust off yourself, arise”
These words echo Yeshayahu 52:2: “Shake yourself from the dust; arise,” a call addressed to Yerushalayim in exile. In Lecha Dodi, Rabbi Alkabetz turns that prophetic language into a call of renewal. The stanza speaks first to Zion and Yerushalayim, and through that to Klal Yisrael still carrying the weight of golus. By Friday evening, it also speaks personally. You do not have to carry the whole week into Shabbos. Shake off the dust. Stand up again. Put on dignity again. Shabbos arrives as a gift of renewal.
Lo seivoshi v’lo sikol’mi — Do not be ashamed, do not be humiliated “Feel not ashamed, and be not humiliated”
This line echoes Yeshayahu 54:4: “Do not fear, for you shall not be ashamed; do not be humiliated.” In the piyyut, the next line asks, “Why are you bowed down, and why are you troubled?” The movement of the stanza is from humiliation to rebuilding: “In you will the poor of My people take refuge, and the city will be rebuilt on its ancient site.” The words speak first to Yerushalayim after churban, but they also offer comfort to anyone carrying hurt or failure. Shabbos reminds us that brokenness is not final. Every week brings the possibility of return, dignity, and rebuilding.
How to Say This Tefillah
L’cha Dodi is sung as part of Kabbalat Shabbos on Friday night, before Maariv and often after Minchah. Customs vary: in many shuls the congregation stands for all of L’cha Dodi, while in others they stand only for the final stanza, “Bo’i v’shalom.”
If you are saying L’cha Dodi at home because you could not get to shul, you may certainly say or sing it on your own. If you wish, you may stand, especially for the final stanza. When reaching “Bo’i v’shalom,” many communities have the custom to turn as though welcoming the Shabbos bride. In some shuls people turn toward the entrance; in others they turn westward. Some also bow slightly during “Bo’i kallah.”
Set your kavanah before you begin. Let the first words come from a place of real feeling: you are calling out to Hashem, asking Him to join you in greeting Shabbos. Tefillah and tzedakah deepen each other. When you give tzedakah alongside your tefillah on Erev Shabbos, you are combining the heart’s prayer with the hand’s generosity. You are asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the zechus of this great tzaddik and in the zechus of your own chesed. After the piyyut, you may add: Elokah d’Meir aneni!
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness was one of the greatest Tannaim. The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18a-18b) tells the story of his sister-in-law, who was trapped by the Romans in a terrible place. Rabbi Meir went to help her, and taught the guard to say “Elokah d’Meir aneni” — God of Meir, answer me in order to be protected if he was ever caught and punished for helping free her. When the guard was later seized by the authorities and cried out those words, he was miraculously saved.
For generations, Jews have repeated these words in times of need, turning to Hashem while drawing upon the zechus and enduring merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness as a source of hope, protection, and yeshuah.
Giving tzedakah for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness as you prepare to welcome Shabbos connects your act of chesed to the piyyut’s theme of geulah. You are asking Hashem to bring peace, comfort, and geulah into your own life, in the zechus of this tzaddik and in the merit of your own giving.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. The talmidei chachamim at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias daven for those who reach out to them. Give tzedakah for the poor of Eretz Yisrael in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, and let your chesed rise together with the song of Shabbos.
Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, a kabbalist who lived in Tzfas in the sixteenth century, composed L'cha Dodi. He signed his name into the piyyut through an acrostic: the first letters of the stanzas spell out Shlomo HaLevi in Hebrew.
The phrase means "Come, my Beloved," calling upon Hashem to join the Jewish people in greeting the Shabbos bride. The concept goes back to the Gemara in Shabbos (119a), where Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Yanai would go out to welcome the Shabbos Queen.
At the final stanza of L'cha Dodi , many congregations turn — sometimes toward the entrance and sometimes toward the west, depending on local minhag — and some bow slightly. The gesture symbolizes welcoming Shabbat as the bride/queen, echoing both the closing words of the piyyut, "Come, bride, come, bride," and the Gemara’s description of greeting Shabbat as a bride.
Yes. If you are unable to go to shul for Kabbalas Shabbos, you can say or sing L'cha Dodi at home. Stand facing the doorway, and at the final stanza, turn to greet the Shabbos bride just as you would in shul. Hashem hears your tefillah wherever you are.
Several stanzas of L’cha Dodi speak directly about the restoration of Yerushalayim and the redemption of Klal Yisrael. The piyyut calls to the city, “Sanctuary of the King, royal city, arise, emerge from the upheaval,” and later promises that “the city will be rebuilt on its former mound.” Chazal likewise describe Shabbos as “one-sixtieth of the World to Come” and connect Shabbos observance with geulah.
A Blessing for Your Shabbos
May the words of Lecha Dodi be more than just text on a page. May they be the doorway into a Shabbos that fills your home with light.
May Hashem grant you a Shabbos of true menuchah. May the heaviness you carried all week fall away like the dust that Rabbi Alkabetz tells us to shake off. May the candles burn steady, the table be full, and the people sitting around it feel the presence of the Shechinah. May your home be a place where Shabbos is greeted the way a kalloh is greeted: with joy, with anticipation, with love. And may Hashem rebuild what is broken, comfort what aches, and bring you closer, week by week, to the peace He has promised.
You can submit a prayer request for the scholars at the tomb of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost — they will daven for you and your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
